Automatic washing mop and floor dryer



1960 K. SKINAS 2,947,012

AUTOMATIC WASHING MOP AND FLOOR DRYER Filed March 10, 1959 2Sheets-Sheet 1 aww F G 2 4 INVENTOR.

KosMAs SKINAS BY ATTORNEYS Aug- Z, 19 K. SKINAS 2,947,012

AUTOMATIC WASHING MOP AND FLOOR DRYER Filed March 10, 1959 2Sheets-Sheet 2 KosMAs SKlNAS WWI/w ATTORNEYS FIG-7- part of thisspecification,inwhi:h: n I Fig. 1 is 'a top plan view of an automaticwashing mop -member;and Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional viewtaken alongthe line 8--8 of Fig. "1, showing a lower part .ofawall being cleaned bythe detachable auxiliary cleaningmember.

United States I f0.

AUTOMATIC WASHING Mop KosniasSkinas, luring fitigS aifFranciiscmCaliff Cy The present inventionrelatesto improyements 'inan .the members 17 sANDF R DR E :2:

automaticwashing mop and fioorldryerL It consistsbf the combinationsconstructions, and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter described andclaimed. V

.An object of my invention is to provide an automatic washing mop andfloor dryer, which is adapted to be used for rapidly cleaning a floorand drying the latter, with 15:

the minimum .amount of elfort being required by the operator. Moreover,the deviceis 'adapted forreaching into rather crowded spaces, suchasbetween'two pieces of furniture or the like, or cleaning underneath. arelative'ly'low piece of furniture. Also, the deviceisbn ranged so thatthe cleaned. n i v, Other objects and advantages will appear as thespecififcation proceeds. The novel features" will set forth in theclaims hereunto appended.

lower. portions of walls may be Drawings 5 For a better understanding ofthe invention, reference should be had to the accompanyingdrawingsrforming Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse sectional vie'w takenand floor dryer made in accordance with my invention;

along the line 4--4 of Fig; 2;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line"5-'5 of Fig.2, and showing'ascreen that -I employ; 6 is a sectional takenalong the'line 6-6otf member;

Fig. 7 is a. top

Fig.'{5, and illustrating a horizontal auxiliary cleaning plan view ofthe main floor-cleaning WhileI have shown only-thepreferred form or myor modifications, maybe made'within the scope of the 'annexed claimswithoutdeparting fromrthe spirit thereof.

7 Detailed description Referring now to the drawings in detail, Ihaveshown a main frame which is indicated generally atA; This frame issupported on a pair of rearwheels 10 and ,a pair :of front dolly wheels-tudin-al memberslz to transverse members13 (see Fig. I) 'Brackets14-,are fastened to the longitudinal members 12 androtatably :carryanaxle 15 to whichtherear wheels 10 are tastened. .The dolly wheels 11are. arried by a .pair oftubes 11. The frame A comprises longithat arespaced apart and secured which are. secured to Y the longitudinalmembers 12. i

M It will be apparent from Fig. 'Z that the main frameA is disposed at asuitable elevation above the floor B over which'the wheels 10 'and' 11arealdpated to roll.

ice

. 2 course, the elevation of this frame above the floor may 'be changedto suit requirements. r I With particular reference to Figs. 2 and 4,:itwill be noted that 'a cradle-frame C arranged between the main frame Aand the fioorB, land the cradle frame is II'IOII-lltbtLJfObliP; anddownpadjustments. For, purpose, the cradle frame C has four uprights 17secured thereto, and these uprights extend upwardly through openings 18that are fashioned in the longitudm'wal memhers 12 (see Fig. l). Latches19 are slidably carried by I 12 and are adapted to be engaged withselected notches 20 formed-in theuprights 17L Thusjthe cradleg jame Cmay be raisedor lowered'with respect to the'floor B and then held inadjusted position by engaging the latches 19 with the appropriatenotches 20.

"The cradle frame C has a portion C projecting in front of the mainframe A and adjacent to the floor B at a low, elevationso as to bemovable underneath a piece of furniture D, as suggested in Fig. 2..'Moreover, a. T-shaped horizontal screen E is supported by the cradleframe C for longitudinal reciprocation. For this reason, the cradleframeC isrnade from .a pair of spaced parallel and. longitudinallyextending box. beams 21 having longitudinal slots zz'formed therein (seeFig. 4). Axles 23 are securedto the screen E and carry rollers 24 thatare disposed'to ride along the interiors 026. the box beams 21, with theaxles23projecting through the slots 22, as shown in Fig. 4. r

' In order to reciprocate the'screen E rectilinearly back and forth, Ihave provided a motor F, the latter being mounted'on a base '25. Thisbase may lee-supported on bars 26 that aresecured to thetransve'rsemembers-13 of the main frame A (see Fig. 1'). As shown in Figs. 1 and 2,a transverse shaft 27- is mounted-to extend across the bars 26, and thisshaft has a pair of discs 28 Pitrnans=-29 have their rear ends con:nected to the discs 28 by journal pins 30, while the front ends ofthesepitmans are swingably attached by pins 31 to brackets 3-2. Thesebrackets are fastened to an angle bari3-3 that surrounds .the screen E.A pulley 34 is fastenedhto themotor shaft 35, and this-pulley isconnected by abeltv 36 to a second pulley 37, the latter being fixed tothe shaft 27.. Thus the turning of the motor F will result inreciprooatingthe screen" E back and forth and lengthwise rela'tiveto,the cradle frame C- It will be noted that v a T-shaped mainfloor-cleaning member G, is removably attached to the underneath surfaceof the screen E for engaging with the floor B. This cleaning member maybemade from any suitable material, such as fabric, and may be reinforcedby longitudinal, and transverse bars 38 and 39, respectively, asdisclosed in Figs. 4 and 7. Hooks 40 may be swingably secured to thescreen B so as to be engageable With-the bars 38 in the manner shown .inFig. 4 to thus detachably connect the main cleaning member G to thescreen B. Any other suitable means may be employed for securing thecleaning member to the screen. 7 In order to deliver a cleaning liquid,such as water and detergent, to the main cleaning member G, I provide a.tank H. This tank may be supported at the desired elevation on the mainframe A. A header pipe 41 leads fronrthe tank H and has-a valve 42arranged therein to control outflow of'the' liquid from the tank. Anupper sprinkler pipe 43 communicates with the header pipe 4 1, and itmay be supported on the bars 26 in the manner shown in Figs. 1 and 4. Alower sprinkler pipe 44 communicates with the forward end of the headerpipe 41 so as to overlie the front part of the. screen E. Ob--viously,'the liquid from the tank H will be delivered through the pipes43 and 44 to the screen E for downward flow into the main floor-cleaningmember G.

Particular attentionis called 'to'the fact that the main mop, and

.screen B may be entirely length of the box beams 21.

E and the cleaning'member G define body portions that extendlongitudinally of the cradle frame C (see Figs. 5 and 7). It will beapparent from Figs. Sand 7 that the screen E and cleaning member G areidentical in size and shape.

Referring now toFigs 1, 2, 5 and 6, it will be noted thatIprovideanauxiliary cleaning member I which is detachably secured to theforward end of the screen E so as to extend horizontally in front of thescreen. The cleaning member I has less width than the screen so as to bemovable into a crowded space between two pieces of furniture K, or thelike, as suggested in Fig. 1, for cleaning such space duringreciprocation of the screen. It will be observed that I have providedbrackets 45 that are fixed to the cleaning member I. .These bracketshave notches 46 therein which are adapted to fit over a flange of theangle bar 33 in the manner shown in Fig. 6. A set-screw 47 may beprovided in each of the brackets 45 for engaging with the flange 33' ofthe bar 33 so as to firmly hold the cleaning member I to the screen B.

As shown in Figs. 1. and 8, the auxiliary cleaning membeer I may bedetachably secured to either side wing portion E of the screen B so asto extend vertically and engage with a wall L for cleaning the engagedportion of the wall during reciprocation of the screen E. At this time,the brackets 45 have notches 48 that will fit over the flanges-33' ofthe angle bar 33 in the manner shown in Fig. 8. A second pair ofset-screws 49 may be used for firmly anchoring the vertical brackets 45to the flange 33. Of course, any other suitable means may be resorted tofor detachably connecting the auxiliary cleaning member I to the screen,either at the front of the screen or at V eitherlateral side of thescreen.

In order to remove liquid from the cleaning members G and I aftercleaning the floor B or the wall L, respectively, I have provided awringer that is designated generally at W in Fig. 3. This wringer hasend walls 50 which are shaped to fit into the tank H, the latter havingan open top 51. Lugs 52 are formed on the end plates 50 so as to slipover the rear wall 53 of the tank H (see Fig. 3). A stationary frontwall 54 extends between the end walls 50 of the wringer, while aswingable wall 55 has its lower end attached to the end walls 50 by pins56.

Any suitable mechanism may be provided for swinging the wall 55 towardthe stationary wall 54 so as to squeeze out liquid from the cleaningmembers G or I, when interposed between the walls'54 and 55. For thispurpose, I

have shown a handle 56 on the swingable wall 55, and this handle has alink 57-connected thereto. The forward end of this link is swingablyconnected to a disc 58, the latter being driven by a stub shaft 59 thatmay be connected by a clutch 60 to one end of the motor shaft 35 (seeFig.1). The handle 56 and link 57 may be arranged at one end of the tankH so as to leave the major length of the tank unobstructed. Thus thewringer W is operated by the motor F. I

When the main floor-cleaning member G and the auxiliary cleaning memberI are being used for scrubbing the floor B, or the latter member isbeing utilized for cleaning the wall L, these members will be in thenature of a will be made of suitable material, such as fabric. After thefloor or wall has been scrubbed, the members G and I may be replaced bysponges so that the floor and wall may be dried.

Upon removing the pins 31 from the pitmans 29, the withdrawn from thecradle frame C, since the longitudinal slots 22 extend the full Thisarrangement will facili- I 44 is long enough 4 tate the changing of themain floor-cleaning member G from a mop to a sponge and vice versa.

In order to facilitate the placing of the cleaning member or mop G inthe wringer W, it has been made in two sections which are indicated at61 and 62. Each section may be connected to parts of the bars 38, thelatter being made in two parts, each bar part being engageable by thehooks 40, thus allowing .thernopsections 61 and 62 to be separated onefrom theother. Y

' As shown in Figure 1," the lower sprinkler pipe 44 may bedetachablyconnected to the header pipe 41 by a union 63, or othersuitable fastening means. The sprinkler pipe to extend overthe wingportions E of the screen E so as to'deliver water thereto.

I claim:

1. In an automatic washing mop and floor dryer: a main frame supportedon wheels so as to be rolled about over.a floor to becIeaned; the mainframe being disposed at an'elevation above the floor; a cradle framecarried by the main frame and being arranged between the main frame andthe floor; the cradle frame having a portion projecting in front of themain frame and ad jacent to the floor at a low elevation so as to bemovable underneath a piece of furniture or the like; the cradle framedefining a pair of spaced parallel and longitudinally extending beams; aT-shaped horizontal screen supported by the beams of the cradle framefor longitudinal reciprocation; a horizontally disposed T-shaped mainfloorcleaning member removably attached to the underneath surface of thescreen for engaging with the floor; the screen and the mainfloor-cleaning member being identical in size and shape and bothdefining main body portions that extend longitudinally of the cradleframe; both the screen and the main'floor-cleaning member being providedwith wing portions at'their forward ends which project laterally in bothdirections beyond the wheels, whereby these wing portions may be usedfor cleaning a floor adjacent to a wall; means operable forreciprocating the screen and the main floor-cleaning memberrectilinearly backand forth over the floor in directions extendinglengthwise of the cradle frame; and means for delivering a cleaningfluid to the screen for downward flow into the main floor-cleaningmember.

2. The automatic washing and floor dryer, as set forth in claim '1; andin which an auxiliary cleaning member is detachably secured to theforward end of the screen so as toextend horizontally in front of thescreen; the auxiliary cleaning member having less width than the screenso as. to be movable into a crowded space between two pieces offurniture or the like, for cleaning the floor in said space duringrectilineal reciprocation of the screen.

3. The automatic washing mop and floor dryer, as set forth in claim 1;and in which an auxiliary cleaning member is provided; brackets carriedby the auxiliary cleaning member; and means for selectively anddetachably securing the brackets to either side wing portion of thescreen so that the auxiliary cleaning member will extend vertically andengage with a wall, whereby the engaged part of the wall may be cleanedduring reciprocation of the screen.

4. In an automatic washing mop and floor dryer: a main frame supportedon wheels so as to be rolled about over a floor to be cleaned; the mainframe being disposed at an elevation above the floor; a cradle framecarried by the main frame and being arranged between themain frame andthe floor; the cradle frame having a portion projecting in front of themain frame and adjacent to the floor at a low elevation was to bemovable underneath a piece of furniture or the like; the cradle framedefining a pair of spaced parallel and longitudinally extending boxbeams, each having a longitudinal slot formed therein; a T-shapedhorizontal screen having axles secured thereto which project through theslots;

6 the main floor-cleaning member rectilinearly back and forth over thefloor in directions extending lengthwise of the cradle frame; and meansfor delivering a cleaning fluid to the screen for downward flow into themain floorhoth the screen and the main floor-cleaning 5 cleaning member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSStockley Jan. 29, 1879 Post Dec. 27, 1910

